Doorcheck for railroad cars



y 1930. M. P. MOLAUGHLIN 1,771,184

DOORCHECK FOR RAILROAD CARS Filed Nov. 6, 1929 Patented July 22, 1930 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE MILTON P. McLAUGI-ILIN, OF WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS DOORCHECK FOR RAILROAD CARS Application filed November 6, 1929. Serial No. 405,153.

The invention relates to a check adapted to so retard the closing movement of a hinged pinched when the wheel brakes are applied Y and the'inertia of the door causes it to ab- 10 ruptly close. Accidents of this character frequently occur, and often involve serious injury to passengers, and expense to a railroad company resulting from claims for damage. The object of the invention is to provide 1-5 a door check of simple and durableconstruction, adapted to stop the closing movement of said door before it is closed suiiiciently to 1 pinch a hand in its patlnand thereafter offer a minimum resistance, so tha t thev door may 2 be readily pushed to its closed and latched position, and to exert balanced upward and downward pressure on the door for a purpose hereinafter stated.

Of the accompanying drawings forininga part of this specification Figure 1 shows in perspective a door casing, a door hinged thereto, and a check embodying the invention, the door being ajar.

Figure 2 is a section on line 22 of Figure 1, showing the check elements separated from each other.

Figure 3 is a sectional View, showing the check elements as they appear at the commencement of the checking operation.

checking elements as they appear when the. door is fully closed. 7

Figure is a view similar to a portion of Figure 4, showing the flexing means hereining it above the path in which 1 ,991 moves,

operate in retarding the closing movement of Figure a is a sectional view, showing the outer portions of the brake members bearing on the deflectors 140. Movement of the door One member includes a pair of spring brake members 130, one above the other supported in inclined positions relative to the path of the door. The other element includes an unyieldingly supported flexing member 140, formed and arranged to contact with the brake members when, the door is moving toward and to its-closed position, so that the brake members and the flexing member 00-.

the door, and stopping it before its swinging edge reaches a position causing it to pinch a hand resting on the upright member of the casing against which the door closes.

, Each brake member 130 is an elongated spring of phosphor bronze or other suitable material, twoleaves or layers being preferably employed. One end of each brake member is fixed to a holder comprising an attaching base 150, and an arm 160, projecting from the base, the outer end of the armbeing provided with inclined seats 210, to which the outer ends of the brake members are attached,

preferably by rivets 170. The brake members are thus positioned so that they areopposite- 75 ly inclined and diverge from the arm 16, as shown, one brake member being inclined inwardly and upwardly, and the other inwardly and downwardly, from its fixed end.

The flexing member is, in this instance, 39 a bracketlQO, which includes an attaching base 180, and an arm projecting above the door andhaving a slot. 200, the upper and lower walls of which constitute upper and lower deflectors 140. The arrangement is such that when the door is closing, the slot receives the outer end portions of the arm and brake members 130, while the door is considerably ajar, as shown by Figure 1, the

toward its closed position causes the deflectors to inwardly flex the brakes, r

'The brake, members have elongated free end portions not backedby the seats 21 0,

and so inclined that theyare pressed inward by the deflecting faces when the door moves from the position shown by'Figure 1,'toward its closed position. The resistance to. the

de re re e ent 9i thre ai as a 10g other, If the retarding 1 sidg irably ajar, as shown by Fig contact of the brake members with the deflectors, increases during the initial movement of the door from the position shown by Figure 3, until the deflectors reach approximately the mid-length of the free end portions of the brake members.

The force of the springs constituting the brake members 130, is so proportioned to the momentum of the door that the said resistance stops the closing movement before the door reaches a pinching position relative to an upright member of the casing, and. renders the door incapable of pinching a hand in the path of its swinging edge.

Thereafter and during the completion of the closing movement, the resistance de creases as the deflectors 140 approach the free ends ofth ebrake members, so thatthe iiual closing ofthe door maybe easily caused by pushing the door to its closed position.

W'hen the door is closing, theslot 200 receives the outer end portions of the arm 160 and hrake menibers 130, while the door is coni I r Fur the'r hieueihent of the door toward its Closed po ition causes the deflectors 14:0 to flex the bi e members 130 toward each other. The

eloiigatedfree end portions of the brake members,norinally inclined, as shown by Figures 2 and 3, i ncre'asii'igly resist the closing nioreihent of the door until the deficctor's more inwardly approximately to the inidleng'th of saidtree end portions, as shown by Figure 0. 'llheincreasing resistance stops the closihgniovement of the door before it is closed to a pinching posi tion, and when the de fiec'tors are in approximately the position shown by Figure 5. Thereafter the resistance tothe closing movement"decreases as the deflecting faces approach the free ends of the brakemen'ibers, so that the door may be easily pushed to its closed position shown by Figure 4.

down'i'raifthaiid twobrake members 130, one

and the other downward, one

dpressure on the door,

airing; upx'viuu, brake exerts an up gaiidthe other a down ar d pressure, through the member 190. two pressures arebajlanced, one neutralizing the other, s

that. t e doo ins 'sam no sen ed us retarding and topping means to b.i ndoneaeh one brake member and Messiaen, said means would exert a pressure on the door on one direction only, and would cause the hinges to so bind on each other as to prevent a desirably free working of the hinges.

I claim: For use with a door casing and a door connected. therewith by vertical hinges, a balancing door eheck adapted to stop the closing D'IO-VQlilQlli; of: the door before its swinging edge reaches a pinching iosition relative to an upright member ot tie casing, said check com-prising a brake member including a holder adapted to be attached to the top member of the casing and projecting therefrom above the path of the door, and a pair of elongated spring brake members fixed at their outer ends to the holder,oiie brake member having al ree portion incliiie'd upwardly and inwardly from the outer end of the holder, while the other brake member has a tree portion incliiied downwardly and inwardly from said outer end, and a brake defleeting member adapted to be attached to the upper end ot the door and projecting above thepath thereof, an'dprovided in'its projecting portion with a pair of spaced apart deflectors "arranged to slide upon and oppositely deflect said brake members, simultaneously, and stop the movement of the door before it reaches a pinching position, the arrangement being such that the pressure exerted by the brake members on the deflectors is balanced, to prere'nt binding of the door hinges on each other. y

ba whereof I have a' fiixed my In testiin MILTON P. MeLAUGHLIN.

signature. 

